Columbia Journalism Review placed Ms. Diggs on their "The Shapers" list for 2000.  The Shapers is a list of 200 New Yorkers who help shape the national media agenda
 

Anita Doreen Diggs was born and raised in New York City. She is the eldest of two children and attended local public schools. Ms. Diggs started her book publishing career in 1989 as Executive Secretary to the CEO of New American Library (now part of Penguin Books USA). Following that job, she worked as a book publicist for Dutton Books for 3 years before quitting to write.

Ms. Diggs is the author of: Staying Married: A Guide For African Americans (Kensington Books, August 1998) which Essence Magazine called "One of the best books of the past 20 years"), Talking Drums: An African American Quote Collection (St. Martin's Press), February 1995), The African American Resource Guide (Barricade Books, June 1994), and Success At Work: A Guide for African Americans (Barricade Books, May 1993).

Ms. Diggs returned to work in 1997 as Senior Publicist at AOL Time Warner Books before moving on to a position as Senior Editor/Director of One World Books (a divison of Random House) in August 2000 where she edited Growing Up X by Ilyasah Shabazz, Bill Clinton & Black America by USA Today reporter DeWayne Wickham and Inner City Miracle by Judge Greg Mathis and many other works of fiction and nonfiction.  Most recently (2004) Ms. Diggs is a features editor for Savoy Magazine.

"Please keep in touch with me. I'd love to hear your thoughts about my writing, recve an invitation to speak in your city or, you can just drop me a line to say hello!"  E-mail: Anita Doreen Diggs

The Other Side of the Game
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ISBN: 0758210493
Format: Paperback, 230pp
Pub. Date: October 2005
Publisher: Dafina Books

Read Chapter 5

Half-sisters Asha Mitchell and Saundra Patterson are as close as can be - even though they have almost nothing in common. Twenty-two-year-old Saundra is a clean-living vegan and yoga enthusiast, about to graduate from college and marry her high school sweetheart. She's also a real daddy's girl who believes that her police detective father is the most infallible man on the planet. Twenty-four-year-old Asha is a fiercely independent career woman and serial dater who has no intention of settling down-or giving up meat of any kind. Despite teasing each other about their opposing lifestyles, the two are happily planning for Saundra's upcoming nuptials. But the festivities come to an abrupt halt when Saundra makes a shocking discovery that topples her father from his pedestal and shatters her trust in men - including her fiancé. Shaken, Saundra flees to the only place that feels safe: Asha's house. Now it's up to Asha to take her in, help her put the pieces back together, and get her back on track with the two most important men in her life. But will living under the same roof bring healing - or be the worst mistake yet for two sisters who couldn't be more different?

Meeting in the Ladies Room
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ISBN: 0758202342
Format: Hardcover, 252pp
Pub. Date: March 2004
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

From acclaimed author Anita Doreen Diggs comes a page-turning novel of romantic obsession, racial tension - and murder. In the rarefied world of Manhattan book publishing, most of the intrigue takes place in the books. But all that is about to change for respected editor Jacqueline Blue...

It's not easy being one of the few African Americans in an overwhelmingly white industry crammed with female trust-fund babies. But when the going gets tough, thirty two year old Jackie thinks about her aging mother's expenses, her own love for books, and keeps her eye on the prize - a promotion to executive editor. Besides all that, Jackie's biggest problem has been her unrequited love for Victor Bell, a handsome member of the Black Pack, her weekly professional group. Does Victor prefer tall women? Light-skinned sisters? Why isn't he interested in her? Should she just come right out and proposition him? These are Jackie's most pressing concerns-until the morning her boss is suddenly murdered. It seems that Jackie was the last person to see Annabelle Murray alive - and the circumstances were not pretty. Jackie's fingerprints are all over the crime scene in Annabelle's sumptuous Central Park West apartment. And with the murder making headlines, Jackie had better start saving for a lawyer. Because as her best friend points out: There's a powerful white woman lying six feet under, and nobody is in jail for it - yet.

A Mighty Love
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ISBN: 0758202318
Format: Hardcover, 34pp
Pub. Date: February 2003
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

Mel and Adrienne Jordan had the kind of marriage most couples only dream about. Mel had abandoned his womanizing ways to settle down with the smartest, sexiest woman he'd ever met - and had absolutely no regrets.
Neither did his wife. Between caring for their infant daughter and tending to their small but lovely home in New York City, Adrienne didn't have time to think about the singing career she'd pursued and then abandoned years ago. Landing a recording contract had once been her greatest ambition-but she hardly ever thought about it anymore. Life was that good.

But then one day a fire sweeps through their home, causing a terrible tragedy. Convinced that he is to blame, Mel returns to the mean streets of his youth-and indulges in the drugs, drink, and women he finds there. Adrienne works long hours at a tedious job, desperate to get ahead-even though she's not really sure where she's going. As they drift further away from each other, Mel and Adrienne start to wonder if they can ever reclaim what they had. And they soon realize that their greatest challenge will be trying to save the one thing they had always taken for granted: their mighty love.

Staying Married: A Guide for African American Couples
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Anita Doreen Diggs & Vera S. Paster

Format: Paperback, 288pp.
ISBN: 1575664224
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Pub. Date: August  2000

A writer and a marriage counselor/therapist provide real-life examples and expert advice to help African-American couples cope with the pressures of marriage and rediscover joy, intimacy, and passion

The African American Resource Guide
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ISBN: 1569800065
Format: Paperback, 224pp
Pub. Date: June 1994
Publisher: Barricade Books, Incorporated
 

 This unique handbook provides information about books, videos, organizations and services of interest to the African-American community. Included are:

Books and Videos: Architecture, Biography, Business & Personal Finance, Contemporary Affairs, Fiction, History, Music, Reference, Women's Studies; videos that were originally motion picture releases now available for sale or rent on video.

Colleges and Universities: Historically black colleges and universities, their history, surroundings, types of degrees offered, expenses, application procedures, and a contact person for each college.

Cultural Organizations: Community associations, consciousness raising groups, political action committees and dozens of other organizations that need volunteers to help improve various aspects of African-American life.

Money for College: Detailed information about private sources of financial aid for both undergraduate and graduate study listed by academic discipline.

Places to go/Things to do: Recreational, historical, and educational activities all centered around the acknowledgement and appreciation of African-American contributions to American life.

Professional Organizations: A networking directory for professionals in many different fields.

Success at Work: A Guide for African-Americans
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ISBN: 0942637852
Format: Paperback, 128pp
Pub. Date: May 1993
Publisher: Barricade Books, Incorporated

If you're a low-income black seeking a job in the white-dominated business world, where do you start? Diggs, a New York writer who has held many jobs, puts her experience to work in this handy guide to help young blacks, and she does it by breaking the process down to basics: how to look for a job, how to act once you get the job, and how to improve your situation within the context of the job. Writing in a straightforward style designed to appeal to young people, Diggs also discusses black executives in white-owned businesses, and she encourages black entrepreneurship, explaining methods of getting started with one's own business. ~Brad Hooper, Booklist

Talking Drums: An African-American Quote Collection, Vol. 1
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ISBN: 0312141386
Format: Paperback, 192pp
Pub. Date: January 1996
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Informative, inspiring, humorous, and fascinating quotes on everything from ability to love to youth, all from a historical African-American perspective-- Talking Drums is one of the most extensive collections of African-American statements to ever appear in book form. Over 75 subject categories, alphabetically arranged, contain memorable quotes from over 300 people.
 

Related Links

Official Homepage
http://www.anitadoreendiggs.com/

 

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